9comparitive Advertising

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PCMA Journal of Business, Vol.1, No.1 (December, 2008) 80-101

Comparative Advertising:

A deadly weapon in marketing War

Dr. B.B.Singla* Mr. Pawan Kumar***Faculty, Punjab School of Management Studies, Punjabi University, Patiala.

**Faculty, College of Management & Technology, Patiala.

AbstractThis study aims at understanding the comparative advertising as a deadly weapon in

marketing war and customer perception towards comparative advertising. The present study is an

attempt to ponder over the factors related to the comparative advertising as a deadly weapon

because the advertising plays a key role in deciding the brand equity in the marketing industry.

Different techniques are used to analyze the information gathered by using primary data. As

advertising industry is growing at a rapid pace so in these circumstances it has become imperative

for the business houses to understand the customer perception regarding comparative study so that

they develop appropriate strategies in the emerging competitive market.

Keywords: Advertising, Marketing, Brand Equity, Comparative Advertising

INTRODUCTIONAdvertising is a paid form of nonpersonal presentation of ideas, goods and services by an

identified sponsor. The main aim of advertising is to create demand in the minds of customer. It is

capable of persuading people who had not previously bought the product. Advertising is assumed to

have such a powerful influence on consumers that new customers are persuaded to buy the product. If

we glance at the present scenario of advertising industry it reveals that industry is growing by leaps

and bounds. Advertising business grew in India by 25.2% in 1991-92. In 1992-93 & 1993-94, it grew

by 36.5% and 37.4% respectively. The advertising business grew by whopping 49.5% in 1994-95.

During 1995-96 the growth rate shown was 30.4%. Though, in 1996-97 the Rs.4727 crore industries

suffered a setback, with a reduced growth rate of around 15%. However, the growth rate has been

varying since then and by now the advertising industry in India has gained a size of Rs. 8500 crore

approximately (Business Times News, 2002). This data explains the giant size of advertising

expenditure and the related importance of management decisions in business practice. Organizations

are in order to woo and retain their customers and are making umpteen efforts to enhance theirvisibility, usage and brand equity as compared to their competitors. In this race advertising play a

vital role in fulfilling all these objectives and to prove the survival of fittest theory.

Comparative advertising: An advertisement in which there is specific mention or presentation of

competing brand(s) and a comparison is made or implied or, An approach to the advertising

message that persuades the audience by comparing the performance of two or more brands of a


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product or service. The reference brand may be the previous formula used by the advertiser, an

unnamed competitor of the advertiser, or a specific and named competitor of the advertiser. Is

comparative advertising a deadly weapon in marketing war? The answer is yes. It can provide useful

information to consumers, and guide in making their choice. Is this good for advertisers? Again, the

answer is yes, provided the comparisons are valid and of relevance to the consumers. A significant

amount of money is wasted by advertisers as they try to compare columns of data which either display

only minute differences or talk about attributes that may not be relevant to the consumer at all! It is

critical that comparisons are both meaningful and in the context of a strong brand. I strongly believe

that comparisons, on their own, cannot provide any long-term sustainable advantage to brands -

brands need to build strong brand positioning and that can be done only through understanding and

responding to your consumers needs - not by reacting to your competitor! Though comparative

advertising may be a short-term tool that can be used. Business markets today are as aggressive as

they can be. Everything is about one brand's superior or claim against that of another. They are driven

partly by the expanding horizons of commercial markets and economies and partly by technological

challenges pushing them to exploit the internet, television and radio environment. Businesses

struggle more than ever, not only to gain the attention of potential customers but also to keep them aspatrons. What comes naturally in aggressive markets is an increase in commercial communicationswith consumers - advertising. Advertising has become a battlefield for creating unique, cutting-edge,

and enticing ways to communicate information to customers to facilitate and positively influence their

buying decisions. Important tools include slogans, trade marks, signs and symbols. When advertising

is taken to a competitive level, companies tend to promote their products and services by comparing

them with those of their competitors to gain consumers' attention and enhance their sales.

Comparative advertising takes place either directly, by using the competitor's trade marked products,

or indirectly, by making a reference to the competitor's products by insinuation or implication. The

US Federal Trade Commission defines comparative advertising as "Advertising that compares

alternative brands on objectively measurable attributes or prices, and identifies the alternative brands

by name, illustration or other distinctive information" (statement of policy regarding comparative

advertising, FTC, Washington DC, and August 13 1979). The EU directive 97/55/EC on misleading

and comparative advertising says that "comparative advertising means any advertising whichexplicitly or by implication identifies a competitor or goods or services offered by the competitor".

These definitions show how consumer behaviors and market competition have influenced the law and

understanding of comparative advertising on a global level. Comparative advertising, as the name

suggests, is advertising where a party (the advertiser) advertises his goods or services by comparing

them with the goods or services of another party. Such other party is usually his competitor and is

often the market leader in the particular trade. The comparison is made with a view towards

increasing the sales of the advertiser. This is typically done by either suggesting that the advertiser's

product is of the same or a superior quality to that of the compared product.

Is it really all that bad? - The problem

But all this does not mean that comparative advertising is not without its advantages. What

is the case for comparative advertising?

One of the most effective methods for advertising a product is to compare it with competitive

offerings. Side-by-side or "A-B" comparisons can provide prospective customers with compellingreasons to buy from the company. They can also help build credibility for its product. Subconsciously,

the prospective customer says: "Who would risk making a direct comparison if they didn't have

something truly superior?" Johnson and Johnson found this out the hard way when Proctor and

Gamble introduced Whisper with a direct comparison of the various features that were new in their

product as opposed to Carefree without once naming Carefree directly. Comparative advertising is


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especially effective when the company concentrates on unassailable and meaningful points of

difference.

Some basic points regarding Comparative Advertising.

1. Comparative advertising is a form of advertising in which two or more named

or recognizable brands of the same product class are compared and the

comparison is made in terms of one or more product attributes.

2. The comparisons can be implicit (brands implied but not named), or explicit

(brands

3. named); the comparisons can be verbal or visual; and the claims can be of

complete

4. superiority, of superiority on some attributes but not on others, or of parity; and

the

5. advertised brand can have a market share smaller than, roughly equal to, or

greater than the comparison brand.

6. Regulations and norms about comparative advertising vary around the world,

however,7. and such ads are still not allowed in several countries.

Comparative Advertising in General

Before analyzing the definition of comparative advertising useful to show the comparative

advertising in general. Comparative advertising, as a special form of advertising, is a sales promotion

device that compares the products or services of one undertaking with those of another, or with thoseof other competitors. All comparative advertising is designed to highlight the advantages of the goods

or services offered by the advertiser as compared to those of a competitor. In order to achieve this

objective, the message of the advertisement must necessarily underline the differences between the

goods or services compared by describing their main characteristics. The comparison made by the

advertiser will necessarily flow from such a description.

Function of comparative advertising

Comparative advertising should enable advertisers to objectively demonstrate the merits oftheir products. Comparative advertising improves the quality of information available to consumers

enabling them to make well-founded and more informed decisions relating to the choice between

competing products/services by demonstrating the merits of various comparable products. Based onthis information, consumers may make informed and therefore efficient choices. (These statements

are true only if the comparative advertising is objective.)

Comparative advertising which aims to objectively and truthfully inform the consumer

promotes the transparency of the market. Market transparency is also deemed to benefit the public

interest as the functioning of competition is improved resulting in keeping down prices and

improving products. Comparative advertising can stimulate competition between suppliers of goods

and services to the consumer's advantage.

Risks of comparative advertising

Comparisons between goods and services of different undertakings carry with them some

significant risks. There is a danger that once undertakings address the merits and inadequacies ofcompeting goods or services, they may be tempted to denigrate them or derive unfair advantages from

such inaccurate comparisons. Just like traditional forms of advertising, comparative advertising seeks

to both assist the development of the undertaking concerned and to inform consumers. Although both

forms of advertising seek to attract customers, in case of comparative advertising, commercial

relationships may be exposed to the constant threat of unfair practices.


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In this enamolous scenario it becomes imperative to study for the mpanies to study about the

comparative advertising, a deadly weapon in marketing war.

Literature Review

James D. King University of Wyoming and Jason B. McConnell University of Wyoming

University of Wyoming University of Wyoming conducted the study on The Effect of Negative

Campaign Advertising on Vote Choice: The Mediating Influence of Gender. It was found that there

is a parabolic effect of repeated exposure to negative advertisements that is gender specific. Among

women, the sponsor initially benefits from an enhanced image but suffers a decline in image when the

voters become overexposed to negative advertisements.

Jung Ok Jeon and Sharon E. Beatt and Pukyong National University, Pusan, South Korea

studied on Comparative advertising effectiveness in different national cultures.

This study compares the cross-cultural differences in persuasion effectiveness of three ad types i.e.direct comparative, indirect comparative, and non comparative ads between subjects in the United

States and Korea using relative measures. The results show that there were main and interactive

effects of country and/or ad type between these two countries, especially on attitudes toward brand

and purchase intentions. In the United States, where direct comparative ads are widely used, indirectcomparative ads were found to be the most effective, while in Korea, where direct comparative ads are

rarely used, direct comparative ads were the most effective.

Mary Ann StuttSouthwest St. Texas University, Texas, USA studied on Comparative

advertisement users of competing brands. The primary objectives of a comparative advertisement

should be to convince users of competing brands to switch to the sponsored brand or at least to get

them to consider the sponsored brand as an acceptable alternative when they repurchase that type of

product. The purpose of this research was to determine whether or not levels of counterargument

differ (1) between readers of comparative and non comparative advertisements, (2) among readers

exposed to different types of comparative advertisements, and (3) among owners and non owners of

the competing brand. Findings indicate that comparative ads may have the potential to elicit more

counter-arguments than non comparative ads, and that owners of the competing brand engaged inhigher levels of counterargument that non owners.

Charles W. Lamb, William M. Pride and Barbara A. PletcherTexas A&M University,

Texas, USA studied on Comparative advertising have focused on the relative effectiveness of

comparative ads versus non comparative or Brand X ads. This recent studies on comparative

advertising have focused on the relative effectiveness of comparative ads versus non comparative or

Brand X ads. This laboratory experiment used 408 student subjects to assess the believability and

interestingness of various comparative advertising formats when the competing brand is illustrated

versus when it is not illustrated. The findings revealed no significant differences in subjects' ratings of

the believability or interestingness of the advertisements illustrating the competing brand compared to

similar advertisements that did not illustrate the competing brand.

Z.S. Demirdjian conducted a study on Sales effectiveness of comparative advertising: An

experimental field investigation. This study have measured comparative advertising effectiveness

through such hypothetical constructs as beliefs, attitudes and intentions this experiment extends

research by examining the impact of comparative advertising on purchase behavior. The resultoverweighs its non comparative counterpart in sales effectiveness.

V. Kanti Prasad mentioned in the Communications-effectiveness of comparative

advertising: A Laboratory Analysis. As per the study, this analysis was performed to assess the

Communications-effectiveness of comparative advertising in relation to its brand X counterpart

results indicate that though a comparative advertising format can enhance message recall to some


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extent; it also can result in some loss of effectiveness from consumer perceptions of low credibility of

its claims.Pechmann, Cornelia & Ratneshwar, S studied on The Use of Comparative Advertising for

Brand Positioning: Association versus Differentiation. As I studied this related literature review, the

explicit superiority claims in direct comparative ads should facilitate differentiation of the advertised

brand from the comparison brand. However prior research suggests that such ads primarily associate

brands. This problem is investigated by considering the categorization and inferential processes

elicited by direct comparative ads. Results suggest that direct comparative ads can enhance a

consumer perception of the advertised brand by associating it with the comparison brand and

simultaneously differentiate the brands by lowering consumers' perceptions of the comparison brand

on the featured attribute. But both effects are contingent on the typicality of the featured attribute and

the familiarity of the advertised brand. A key finding is that direct comparative ads are most effective

for both unfamiliar and familiar advertised brands when the featured attribute is typical of the

category.

MANUEL MORASCH in University of Toronto - Faculty of Law studied on Comparative

Advertising - A Comparative Study of Trade-mark Laws and Competition Laws in Canada and theEuropean Union and reveals that when advertisers seek to promote their product at the expense of

another in terms of quality, performance, sales, price or other attributes, they face not only a public

cautious of their claims, but also a broad spectrum of legal rules. These include trade-mark law and

competition law statutes, common law torts and self-regulatory mechanisms. This thesis illustrates

the variety of legislation and jurisdiction surrounding comparative advertising in both Canada and the

European Union, and, within the latter, Germany and the United Kingdom.

Peter Miskolczi-Bodnr Professor of Law, Director of Institute of Civil Law,

Hungary mentioned on Economic function of the comparative advertising that the economic

function of the comparative advertising, its risks, interests to be protected and the main features of its

regulation. The second part is about the definition of comparative advertising. A new draft directive is

analyzed in the possible solution to create two kinds of comparative advertising. First is Comparative

advertising in general, Second is Function of comparative advertising and the third is interests.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDYAs we are aware advertising agency is expanding at a high rate & for advertising to be more

effective, the advertising experts and the advertisers are seeking and developing advertising

techniques and strategies to communicate their messages most effectively. Its from these efforts

having merged the emotional ads, rational ads comparative ads etc.

During the last twenty years, advertisers have increasingly used the comparative advertising

format to more directly attack he competitive brands in the market place. The premise of course is

based on the important assumption that the comparative information provided by advertisers using

this format is both interesting and informative to audiences.

An approach to the advertising message that persuades the audience by comparing the

performance of two or more brands of a product or service. The reference brand may be the previous

formula used by the advertiser, an unnamed competitor of the advertiser, or a specific and named

competitor of the advertiser.

Comparative advertising is a form of advertising in which two or more named or

recognizable brands of the same product class are compared and the comparison is made in terms of

one or more product attributes. Comparative advertising should enable advertisers to objectively

demonstrate the merits of their products. Comparative advertising improves the quality of information


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available to consumers enabling them to make well-founded and more informed decisions relating to

the choice between competing products/services by demonstrating the merits of various comparable

products.

OBJECTIVES OF STUDYThe overall purpose of this endeavour is to investigate the comparative advertising to find

out how much pragmatic that it is deadly weapon in marketing war. This study helps us to frame a

clear picture and also helps us to know the consumer perception regarding the effectiveness of

comparative advertising. So, the study will have following objectives to fulfill-

To study the strategic shift in the trend of advertisement.

To find out the customer expectation and perception regarding various comparative

advertisements.

To find out the effectiveness of comparative advertisements.

To study the various factors related to comparative advertisements as a deadly

weapon in Marketing war.

Scope of study :- The study is limited to Punjab only as I have to cover and collect data from

four different cities of Punjab.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGYFor the purpose of this study, the target population was all the consumer above 21 years of

age residing in the four major divisions of Punjab i.e. Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Patiala. The

sample population consists of 150 respondents .A close ended questionnaire was developed for

conducting the study.

DATA ANALYSIS & RESULTSThis chapter deals with the analysis regarding Is comparative advertising a deadly

weapon in marketing war it present the information collected through the questionnaire of survey

as described in research methodology.

Table 1**

Basis on which you buy a Product

Particulars Percentage

Face value 10%

Marketing 61%

Creditability of product 29%


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Interpretation

It is clear from the table 1 that 61% of marketing efforts of the companies & 29% of

creditability of product influence the respondents to buy the product. From the study we can say that

the respondents more go for that product of which marketing is done a lot n a lot. From the marketing

of the product the respondents can easily understand about the product and can easily buy the product

by understanding and knowing the product.

Table 2 **

Factors deciding about right choice of product


Services provided by it 30%

Unique features 50%

Status that comes with it 20%

Marketing

61

Credibility of

Produc

29

Face value

10

Face value

Marketing

Credibility of product


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Interpretation: The table 2 reveals that 50% of the unique features of the product & 30%

services by it are the best way of deciding about right choice of product. From the study

we can say that the respondents are very much interested in unique features of the product and

less interested in status that comes with the product & the respondents or

customers are also go for the services provided with the product. The

product which has the unique features is demanded by the customers or

respondents.

Table 3**

Qualities of a brand that attract your fancy


Trust 20%

Confidence 20%

Reliability 30%

Uncompromising customers 30%

3. Status

comes with

201.

provided by

30

2.

feature50

1. Services provided by it

2. Unique features

3. Status that comes with it


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Interpretation: The table unravels that 30% of reliability, 30% of Uncompromising

customers

& 20% of confidence attracts customers fancy regarding qualities of a

brand. From the study we can say that the respondents or customers are very much branding

loyal and reliable on thebrand so that the brand attracts the fancy of customers a lot.

Table 4**

Interest of customers


Good product 60%

Good marketing of things 30%

Dont know 10%

3.

30

2.

20

1.

20

4.uncompromi

ing

30

1.

2.

3.

4. Uncompromising


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Interpretation: Table 4 depicts that the interest of customers lies on 60% of good product &

30% of good marketing of product. From the study we can say

that customers interest lies on the good product and after than good

marketing of the product. From this we can also say that the product should be

good and after than the company should go for the marketing of that product very highly which can

be seen by the customers or public.

Table 5**

Conjoint analysis if both the products are alike


Better taste 10%

Associated With Celebrities Like

Aishwarya Rai & Aamir Khan

20%

Ahead of its competitor in all respects 70%

3.Dont

10

1. Good

60

2.

marketing

thing

30

1. Good

2. Good marketing of

3.Dont


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I

n

t

e

r

p

r

e

t

a

ti

o

n

:

As per table 5 70% ahead of its competitor in all respects & 20% of associated with celebrities likeAishwarya Rai & Aamir Khan choose if both the products are alike. From this study we can say that

the respondents choose if both the products are alike they go for ahead of the products competitor in

all respects and after than that product which associated with celebrities.

Table 6**Companies bothered about their competitors product

Particulars No. of Respondents PercentageStrongly agree 39 26%

Agree 45 30%

Neutral 24 16%

Disagree 30 20%

Strongly disagree 12 8%

Mean score 3.46

3. Ahead of

competitor in

respect

70 2. Associated

celebrities

Aishwarya rai

Aamir

20

1. Better

10

1. Better

2. Associated with celebrities like Aishwarya rai & Aamir

3. Ahead of its competitor in all


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In

t

e

r

p

r

etation: Table 6 shows that the mean score is 3.46 therefore people are wholeheartedly agree

w i t h the statement. From this we can also say that the companies are more bothered

about their competitors product. The respondents near about 30% are agreeing from

t h i s statement and 26% are strongly agreed from this statement.

Table 7**

Comparative marketing is a good way of publishing your product

Particulars No. of Respondents Percentage

Strongly agree 39 26%

Agree 48 32%

Neutral 30 20%

Disagree 18 12%

Strongly disagree 15 10%Mean score 3.52

3.

162.30

1. Strongly26

5.disagre

8

4.20

1. Strongly 3. 4.2. 5. Strongly


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Interpretation: As far as statement, Do customers think that comparative marketing is a

good way of publishing your product were concerned people generally agreed to this

state

ment

. As p e r d at a i n

table 7 we can say that the companies marketing are a good way of publishing their product. The

respondents near about 32% are agree from this statement and 26% are strongly agree from this

statement

Table 8**

Consumers benefit at large from comparative advertising

Particulars No. of Respondents Percentage

Strongly agree 30 20%

Agree 54 36%

Neutral 15 10%

Disagree 30 20%

Strongly disagree 21 14%

Mean score 3.28

1. Strongly

26

2.32

3.

20

4.12

5.disagre

10

1. Strongly 2. 3. 4. 5. Strongly


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Interpretation: As far as statement Do you think consumers benefit at large from

comparative advertising was concerned people were neutral towards this approach. From

this table we can say that the companies think consumers benefit at large from comparative

advertising. The respondents near about 36% are agreeing from this statement

a n d 20% are strongly agreed from this statement.

Table 9**

Influence of comparative adverti


Yes 60%

No 30%

Dont know 10%

2.

363.10

4.20

1. Strongly20

5.disagre

14



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Interpretation: Table 9 reveals that 60% respondents influence by comparable advertising

& 30% not & the rest 10% dont know about comparable advertising. From this study this can seen

that comparable advertising influence the respondents or the customers a lot.

Table 10**

Advertising improves performance of a company while comparing brands


Strongly agree 20%

Agree 30%

Neutral 30%

Disagree 10%

Strongly disagree 10%

2.

30

1.

60

3. Don't

10

1. 2. 3. Don't


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Interpretation: As far as statement Do you think comparing brands, advertising improvesperformance of a company was concerned people were neutral

t owa r d s this approach. From the table 10 we can say that the

c o m

par i

n g

brands, advertising improves performance of a company. The respondents near about 30% are agree

from this statement and 20% are strongly agree from this statement.

Table 11**

Comparing a thing of different brands eventually help you to select the bestParticulars Percentage

Strongly agree 20%

Agree 30%

Neutral 20%

Disagree 20%


1. Strongly

20

2.30

3.30

5.disagre

10

4.10



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Interpretation: As far as statement Do you think comparing a thing of different brands

eventually help you to select the best was concerned people w e r e

neutral towards this approach.

Table 11 depicts that the companies think comparing a thing of different brands

eventually help you to select the best.The respondents near about 30% are agree from

this statement and 20% are strongly agree from this statement.

Table 12**

Comparable advertising offers diverse portfolios of a product


S t r o

ngly

agre

e

20%

Agree 20%

Neutral 30%

Disagree 20%


3.

20

2.

30

1. Strongly

20

4.

20

5. Strongly

10



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Interpretation: As far as statement Do you think comparable advertising offers diverseportfolios of a product was concerned people were neutral towards this approach. From the table 12

we can reveal that the companies think comparable advertising offers diverse portfolios of a product.

The respondents near about 30% are agreeing from this statement and 20% are strongly agreed from

this statement.

Table 13**Information given about the product while comparing it with competitors product is true


Strongly agree 20%

Agree 30%

Neutral 30%

Disagree 10%


3.30 2.

1. Strongly205.

disagre10

4.20



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Interpretation: As far as statement Do you think that the facts for the information given

about the product while comparing it with competitors product is true

was concerned people were neutral towards this approach. Table

1 3 shows that the companies think that the facts for the information given

about the product while comparing it with competitors product are true. The

respondents near about 30% are agreeing from this statement and 20% are strongly agreed

from this statement.

Table 14**

Comparative advertisement affects buyi


Strongly agree 40%

Agree 20%

Neutral 10%

Disagree 20%


3.

30

2.

30

1. Strongly

20

5. Strongly

10

4.

10



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Interpretation: As far as statement Do you think that comparative advertisement affects

your buying decisions was concerned people were neutral towards this approach. In table 14 it is

found that the companies think that comparative advertisement affects youre buying decisions The

respondents near about 20% are agreeing from this statement and 40% are strongly agreed from this

statement.

Findings and Conclusions:-The debate over comparative ads has continued for nearly twodecades. Some see these comparative ads as industry's own form of consumerism and suggest they

appeal to a wider audience and enhance sponsor's brand identification, message persuasiveness and

market share. Others maintain comparative ads increase Consumer awareness of competitors' brands,

decrease claim credibility, and produce confusion rather than effective communication.

Despite the controversy, there is evidence that comparative formats are widely used by

advertisers. Recent estimates indicate 35 to 40 percent of all ads are comparative in some sense, and

some firms are returning to comparative strategies in the belief that they are more effective than non

comparative approaches. In a recent survey "allowing a small unknown firm to successfully compete

with much larger firms" was often mentioned as one of the greatest values of comparative advertising.

Yet, research provides little evidence to help explain why comparative ads may produce

better results. In fact, much research indicates comparative and non comparative ads do not differ in

their impact. Apparent inconsistencies between academic research findings and advertising practicesmay be due to the fact that many studies of comparative advertising have focused exclusively on

frequently used measures of ad impact (beliefs, attitudes, intention, etc.) rather than on potentialdifferences in the processing of comparative and non comparative ads. A second reason for confusion

about the impact of comparative vs. non comparative ads is the failure to distinguish between types of

1. Strongly40

2.20

3.10

4.20

5.disagre

10



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comparative ads. For example, some comparative ads subtly refer to a competitive brand, while others

explicitly name and show the competitor (often the market leader).

The findings of the project are as follows: -

The marketing of a product influence the buyer behavior in great extent. Every customer

buys any product to satisfy their needs and wants.

SUGGESTIONS

Better marketing efforts make the product relatively successful so it is an essential

requirement to market the product effectively

Customer is completely concerned about the unique features of the products while

purchasing .So the features of product while purchasing. So, the features of product

should be according to the target population.

The marketing strategies should be such that customers can be retained for a longer

period because retained customers are more loyal than the new ones.

Customers will buy only products which have the desired results or qualities so productsshould be manufactured according to the target customer

Companys market image & market share are decisive factors and thus influence the

customer buying behavior. So company should try to make such strategies so that to

overcome the competitors

Customers also favor the comparative marketing. So it has a good scope Comparative advertising should be carries with due consideration and strategy

formulation

CONCLUSIONS

At a time when comparison shopping sites have been developed on internet offering one-stop

comparison shopping resources, the popularity of comparative advertising and hence its growth is

much evident. A situation that may encourage use of comparative advertising in India is the sluggishgrowth of many industries and the market with product categories overcrowded with brands. More

interestingly, even the services are increasingly using this strategy.

The focus of the present study is limited to direct comparative ads, those in which a

relatively unknown brand makes direct reference to a well-known market leader. This "twisting the

tiger's tail," as it is sometimes called, is a comparative advertising strategy commonly used to position

a brand in the market place. The study investigates the possibility that a comparative ad which

contains direct references to a well-known brand has an inherent advantage over non comparative ads

because the structure and content of the comparative ads lead consumers to be more "involved" with

the advertised message. This increased involvement may result in a more deeply processed message

and in the formation of a more retrievable brand-memory trace.

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